Track scale



March 6, 1951 MAYER 2,543,794

TRACK SCALE Filed Nov. 19. 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 JZJ.

L/' 40' 'Q0 Q o n Q0 GO w@ 25 Q@ @ii O@ 22 A 6" 25 26 ggg@ @BGL March 6,1951 Filed Nov. 19, 1945 H. MAYER TRACK SCALE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 6,1951 H. MAYER 2,543,794

TRACK SCALE Filed Nov. 19, 1945 SSheetS-Sheet 3 ill 76 March 6, 1951 H.MAYER 2,543,794

TRACK SCALE Filed Nov. 19, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 H. MAYER TRACK SCALEMarch 6, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 19, 1945 H. MAYER 2,543,794-

TRACK SCALE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 March 6, 1951 Filed NQv. 19, 1945 Ime/dorQ/@ef Patented Mar. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRACK SCALEJHarry Mayer, Chicago, Ill., assigner t'oS'treet'er- Amet Company, acorporation of Illinois Application November 19, 1945, ,SerialNm 629,596

12 Claims. 1 Y

This invention relates to the weighing of lrailway rolling stock,particularly freight cars and locomotives, and the principal object oflthe invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for thispurpose.

The vrevenue derived from a railroad from -ts freight trafc is basedupon the weight of the goods shipped and, While in some cases weightsare determined before the :goods are loaded into a car, by far the mostcommon method of determining weights is to weigh the cars .after beingloaded, and then ldeducting 'the weight of the car itself to get the payload.

The track scales used lfor weighing freight cars, either loaded orunloaded, are in general of two classes; heavy duty scales Ywhich arebuilt suiciently strong to weigh any'type of car that may travel overthe scale, and light duty scales which are 'designed for limited use 'inweighing cars of specific sizes and maximum weights. Due to the limitedcapacity of light duty scales, .it

vis customary to provide what is'known as'a 'dead 'rail `to enablelocomotives and other heavy equip- -ment to pass Vover the scale without`imposing while uncoupled from other cars, land, after its weight hasbeen determined, it -is then moved from the scale and another carbrought into weighing position. If Ya car is too long, or its weight istoo great for the capacity of the particular scale, two-draft weighingvis resorted lvto, this being accomplished by weighing rst v.one truckand then the other truck ofthe car and adding the weights to get thetotal weight of the car. Single draft weighing is, of course, theweighing of both trucks of afsingle car simultaneously.

In gravity weighing, the track scale vis located on an inclined track sothat as individual cars are allowed to roll down the track overthe'scale.

the Weight is recorded lWhile the car is in motion on the weigh rail.

The-Weighing of cars in motion While coupled in a train may be done -oneither .heavy duty or light duty scales, but, with the latter type ofscale, and with heavyduty scalesequipped Lil) -2 with a dead rail, the#engine `and three or four cars must be run vover the -dead rail Vandthen the cars only are backed vacross the scale to be again coupled 'tothe train after which the engine slowly vpulls the cars over the scale`and the weights are recorded.

Heavy duty trackscales, of the knife-edge type, are generally made intwo sections with the capacity of each section ranging from 150 4Vto 200tons, with Aweigh'rails ranging 'from 50 to T5 feet in length, and withweigh beam capacities ranging 'from 3003000to 400,000 pounds. Others cistill greater capacity "andnumber of sections are also in regularservice. -For example, foursection railway 'track scales are used'for`heavy duty work and are designed for either spot or 'motion'we'i'ghingVTheir sizes and capacity, like all tracks'cales, are based upon thetra'c weighed rather than the size of individual car loads. Those inregular vservice 'vary in sectional capacity from 50 'to 75 tons forthose intende'dfor light service, while their heavy duty 4counterpartshave 'sectional'capacities ranging from 75 to `200 tons. "Lengths 'ofweigh rails in modern scales generally rangeirom 46 to60ffeet for the-light service type and from 60 to v'70 feet for the "inorecofnmoninstallations o'f heavy duty scales,

While in some instances the weigh rails 'are v110 feeti'n length.

Wherethe Volume of tralfic'to be weighed is heavy, certain economies areeffected by using automatic weight-recording ydevices associated withthe scale beam. .'The capacities of the recorders range from '70,000vpounds to 400,000 .pounds and the,graduatio'n's 'are from 50 to 200pounds. These recorders automatically weigh the cars and .print theweight on the weigh tickets while the cars are -in motion. The recorders.permit weighing by the gravity, coupled in .motion, or spot methods..In some of the designs, atimhing and counting mechanism controls theweighing operation .and prevents the printing of the correct `Weightuntil the scale is in balance. Cars can'be weighed at an average of twoto fourjper minute, lthe time depending upon the length kof the scaleand .the ytype of recorder used. A

The foregoing facts -are set -torth in vmore detail `in the RailwayEngineering and Maintenance Cyclopedia, published `by Simmons--BoardmankublishingCorporation, Chicago, -Illinois, Fifth Edition,v1942, pp. '711 to '720, vand reference is made -to `thispublication.for addil.tional material ,pertaining to the state of .the art. Thecost of present `day .track scales .mayrun $15,000 to $150,000, or evenmore. In general, it has always been considered necessary to increasethe size and capacity of a scale whenever a scale is required forheavier duty service, or for service with cars of longer wheel base thanthat for which the scale was originally designed.

The amazing and striking fact about the present invention is thatexisting track scales may be modiiied to increase their capacity andability to weigh heavier and longer cars, not by increasing the size ofthe scale, but by decreasing it. The resultant savings in cost ofconstruction, maintenance and operation is tremendous. Furthermore,scales made in accordance with my invention have greater flexibility andthe same scale can be used for weighing rolling stock of varying length,even when the cars are coupled together and in motion.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent as thedisclosure proceeds and the description is read in conjunction withaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 and 2 diagrammaticallyillustrate a comparison between the present method of weighing carscoupled and in motion and my improved method for the same,

Figure, 3, 4a and 4b compare the old gravity method of weighinguncoupled cars in motion with my improved method and apparatus for thesame,

Figures 5 and 6 make a similar comparison between conventionallocomotive track scales for the static weighing of locomotives and myimproved method and apparatus for weighing them in motion,

Figure 7 shows a freight train with some of the critical distances whichaffect the size and capacity of the scales that must be used forweighing the individual cars of the train,

Figure 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a four-section three-spantrack scale converted in accordance with my invention to a two-sectionsingle-span scale, the unused portions of the old scale being shown indotted lines and the retained or modified portions in full lines,

Figure 9 is a plan View of the converted track scale of Figure 8,

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IIJ-l of Figure 9,and showing particularly one of the sections of the scale,

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line l I-I I of Figure9 showing that portion of the scale mechanism that transmits the loadfrom the end and intermediate extension levers to the weight-indicatingand recording mechanism,

Figure 12 is a sectional View taken on the line l2--I2 of Figure 11,

Figure 13 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the lever system ofthe four-section three-span scale shown in Figures 8-12 inclusive, theportion of the system not bein-g required for the converted scale beingshown in dotted lines and the remainder in full lines,

Figure 14 is a view corresponding to Figure 13 but showing thesimplilied lever system required for a new installation of a short trackscale constructed in accordance with this invention,

Figure 15 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line l-I5 ofFigure 16,

Figure 16 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line Iii-I6 ofFigure 15,

Figure 17 is a diagrammatic view showing dual trip mechanism used inconjunction with certain embodiments of my invention,

Figure 18 is an end elevational view of the same, and

Figure 19 shows another form of dual trip mechanism.

For a complete understanding of the invention, it will be helpful toconsider first the problems Which arise when the various standardmethods of Weighing are used with conventional track scales and then seehow the use of my improved method and apparatus solves those problems ineach case.

Weighing of freight cars while coupled together and in motion Beforefreight cars are moved to their ultimate destination, it is necessary toobtain the individual car weights and the economical and most efficientmanner of doing this is while the cars are coupled together and inmotion. If the cars are all of the same length, say for example 40 feetfrom the front axle to rear axle with 10 feet between the adjoiningaxles of adjacent cars (see Figure 1) and a 50-foot scale is available(i. e. a scale with a Weigh rail length ol 50 feet) having a triplocated, say, one foot from the leaving end of the weigh rail andoperable on every fourth wheel actuation to record the weight on thescale, the scale would furnish one with the Weight of each car goingover the scale. But, if a shorter car, say a 30-foot car happened to bein the train and all other conditions were the same, one or more wheelsof the car following it would be on the scale when the trip operated torecord the Weight, and, obviously an incorrect weight for the cars wouldbe recorded. Hence, for weighing cars coupled together and in motion byconventional methods, all cars must be of substantially the same lengthand the scale used must have a weigh rail suited for that length of car.

Now, by contrast, suppose instead of using a 50-foot scale for theconditions stated above, a scale having a weigh rail 22 (Figure 2) of 13feet in length were used with a trip 23 at the leaving end of the scalelocated 6 inches from that end, or 12 feet 6 inches from the enteringend of the Weigh rail. With this length of scale and with cars coupledtogether and in motion, only one car truck of substantially anyconventional freight car, no matter in what order they are coupledtogether, can be on the weigh rail at one time; and, by arranging thetrip to record the weight on the scale when actuated by the front wheelof each truck (by using a two-cycle trip mechanism) the Weight carriedby each car truck may be recorded.

Hence, since the maximum total weight of a loaded freight car ofgreatest capacity does not ordinarily exceed 50 or 55 tons, and themaximum weight'which can be imposed by three driver wheels of alocomotive on the scale, would not ordinarily exceed tons, a two-sectionscale (i. e., a scale having two main pivot points) made in accordancewith this invention could have a sectional capacity based upon thesemaximum loadings.

These maximum loadings are well within the sectional capacities ofconventional scales, in fact, they are considerably lower than usual. As

a result, the dead rail which is ordinarily used on light duty scales,and many times on heavy duty scales, to avoid damage to the scalemechanism by locomotives and other heavy equipment, which would causeoverloading of the scale, may be entirely eliminated,V resulting tin"substantial (savvings due ,tothe elimination of dead-track ystructure,the supportsforthe 'dead'railgandthe time required .for dead railswitching, etc.

In newconstructionsthe scale parts "maybe made correspondingly 'lighterdue to the lower loads imposed upon 'the scales. yIn converted scalesthe use of theshorter weigh rail "actually increases the capacity of thescale and eliminates the need for the deadrail with its consequentdisadvantages.

'Ihe mention of a l2 foot `6 inch'distancebetween the entering end ofthe rweighrailand the trip is not an arbitrary selection Aof length butone which in itself'has certain advantageaas will hereinafter appear.Theoretically, Ufor multiple draft weighing of freight cars,.that' isthe separate weighing yof the' loads on each car truck of a car, a-weigh rail need be nolonger than the greatest distance between theaxlc-s of any commonly used or conventional freight car truck. By farthe greatest number of freight cars in use today have car trucks withaxles on foot 6 inch centers, and,'if it were possible to employscalemechanism that would instantaneously indicate and record the weightapplied to the scale, a weigh rail of 5 feet 6 inches or slightly more,as indicated at 20 in Figure 2 with a trip 2| immediately adjacent tothe leaving `end o'f the rail for actuating the recording device, wouldserve the purpose.

Unfortunately, a certain amount of time is required for scale mechanismto stabilize itself upon the application of aload, and it is thereforedesirable to have the Weigh rail as long as possible, consistent withother influencing'factors, to give the scale as muchtime asvpossible tostabilize as a car truck is being run overthe weigh rail beforerecording the weight. Obviously, the longer the permissible length oftheWeigh rail, the greater the speed with which the cars maybe run over thescale.

One limiting factor in determininghow long the weigh rail can be formultiple draft weighing of cars coupled .and rin motion is the distancebetweenthe front wheels of the leading'truck of .a car and the frontwheels of the rear truck of the same car. Of course, the weigh railcould be increased in length over this distance to the extentof thecoupling distance (as shown at C in Fig. '7) but this would not resultin any practical benefit because such additional'length of rweigh railwould not be utilized for weighing purpose.

In order -to `have a weigh rail of maximum length, however, as set forthabove, it is necessary to use two alternately effective trips 25 and 26,the first, Yor-trip 25, operating to record the weight on the scale whenactuated bythe front wheel of a rear truck after the front truck of thesame carhas left the scale and before the fronttruck of the succeedingcar has reached the scale, and the other, or trip 2.5, operating torecord the weight on Vthe scale when actuated by the front wheel of afront truck, before the rear truck of the same car reaches vthe scaleand after the rear truck of the preceding car has left the scale.

The maximum permissible length of a weigh rail using two trips, as shownin Figure 2, depends upon the extent to which the scale is intended toaccommodate cars of `varying length.

Excluding certain types of ore cars from consideration which have a veryshort overall wheel base (on the ordervof feet from outside axle tooutsideaxle) almost .everyother conventional freight car could beweighed while coupled in a trainandinmotionif the weigh railris no`.longer thanapproximately 31 feet 6 inches,making use of alternately-acting trips 25 kand 26.for determining t'he Hinstant at which thescale weight is to-be recorded. Thelength'of 31 feet -inches isbasedupon an assumed minimum overall wheel Ybaseleng'th of 30 feet-(iaeffront axle of the front truck to'rear axle ofthe reartruck), aminimum dista-nce of 7 feet between the adjoining axles of coupled cars,and the conventional5 foot 6 inch spacing of car -axles within a giventruck. Ob-

viously, the figure of 3l feet 6 inches may vary somewhat according -tothe conditions assumed.

Although the above indicates certain limiting factors determining thepermissible length of a weigh rail according to mylin-vention, it ispreferred thatthe weigh lrail be less than approximately 15v feetinlength with a trip preferably located -at approximately 12 feet 6inches l.from the entering end of the weigh rail in order to gaincertain additional advantages. In the first place, this length isadequate to give the scale timeto stabilize aftereach truck has comeupon the scale for train speeds suitable for the task performed by theweighmaster or other person responsible for the weighing of the cars.Probably -fof greater importance, however, is the fact that a scalehaving a weigh rail, the lengthof which is less than substantially l5feet, cannot have more-than three driver -wheels of substantially anyconventional freight locomotive on the scale at one time. This isbecause the minimum distance between driver wheels on such locomotivesis approximately 5 feet, vthus making the minimumdimension for A inFigure 7 ten feet.

Since the maximum load imposed on a scale by three pairs of driverwheels of substantially any conventional freight locomotive does notexceed approximately 110 tons and, since it is impossible to get twofreight car trucks on a weigh rail of Substantially l5 feet or less atthe same time (if possible, the total maximum loading of the vrtwotrucks would not exceed tons), it means that a Weigh rail ofsubstantially l5 feet -or less may have va sectional capacity, vassuminga two-section scale, of 60 tons and therefby be adequate for allrailroad rolling stock that would l.pass over the scale and hence nodead rail is needed.

Although a scale having a weigh rail length of substantially l5 feetenables low capacity scale mechanism to be used, as pointed out above,without the use of a dead rail, it is preferred that the weigh rail beon the order of 12 feet 6 inches in length in order to gain certainadditional advantages. It has been determined that substantially allconventional freight cars, with the exception of certain types of orecars, have a minimum distance between the correspondingiaxles of theadjacent trucks of coupled cars, as indicated at B in Figure 7, ofapproximately 12 feet 6 inches; therefore a weigh rail of this lengthprecludes the possibility of having more than one car truck on the weighrail at any one time, and using a trip for operating the scale recorderimmediately adjacent to the leaving end of the weigh rail, the maximumpossible time is provided .for the scale to stabilize itself after`receiving the car truck that is to be weighed.

Since the speed at which the cars may be weighedisllimited bythe timerequired for-stabiliza'tion o'f the scale, obviously maximum Weighingspeed is obtained by providing stabilizing time, as described above. Bya multiple draft weighing method and apparatus the speed at which carsmay be weighed is materially increased over that permissible forconventional single-draft weighing of freight cars coupled and inmotion. From what has been said, it is apparent that a track scalehaving a weigh rail length of substantially l2 feet 6 inches andsectional capacities of 60 tons can, without the use of a dead rail,accommodate all classes of freight cars, with the exception of specialore cars, and weigh them while coupled together and in motion at asubstantially greater speed than heretofore possible.

Furthermore, this type of weighing enables uneven distribution of thecar load on the car trucks to be discovered and avoids the possibilityof overloading any particular car axle or journal.

For ore cars or any other type of car that may have exceptionally shortoverall wheel base, it has been found that a scale having weigh raillength of less than substantially l feet, and preferably having a lengthof substantially 8 feet 6 inches is the most desirable because itprevents more than one truck of ore cars coupled together from being onthe weigh rail at any one time. The 8 foot 6 inch length of the weighrail is based upon the fact that the distance B (Figure 7) for most orecars coupled together is that amount. This length, however, may varyconsiderably within the teachings of this invention.

Gravity weighing In the gravity weighing of freight cars each car afterbeing loaded is put over the hump in the classification yard and made totravel by gravity over the scale. The common practice is to have a scalehaving a weigh rail long enough to accommodate both trucks of any car toAbe weighed on the scale, and, in addition, the rail must be long enoughto permit the scale to become stabilized after both trucks of the carbeing weighed are on the scale. Hence, a car having an overall wheelbase of 40 feet might be weighed on a track scale having a weigh raillength of 50 feet allowing approximately l0 feet for the scale tostabilize during the weighing operation. This is illustrated in Figure3.

If a car is to be weighed having a length too great for theparticularscale, two-draft spot weighing is used. This consists in moving onetruck of the car onto the weigh rail and weighing that truck and theload which it carries while the car is Stationary, then moving the othercar truck onto the rail, stopping the car, and then weighing that truckalone with the load that it carries.

According to my invention, by using a shorter track scale not only may Iobtain many economies in original cost, and cost of maintenance andoperation, but I also achieve much greater flexibility in the length andweight of car that can be weighed on the scale.

Theoretically, a weigh rail of feet 6 inches if used with scalemechanism that would provide instantaneous weight indication andrecording would be satisfactory. Since scale mechanism of this kind isnot available, a longer weigh rail must be used, and in general, thelonger the weigh rail, the greater the speed at which the car beingweighed by the scale can be moved over the scale.

By using two trips, one at, say, approximately 20 feet from the enteringend of the scale, and the other adjacent the leaving end, almost anyexisting gravity scale can be converted to a multiple draft motionweighing scale with the 20 foot trip being used to record the weight ofthe front truck and the trip at the end of the scale being used torecord the weight of the rear truck. This modification of existingscales would have the advantage of enabling the scale to handle carswhich heretofore have been too long for the scale without resorting tomultiple draft spot weighing methods.

Since substantially all conventional freight cars, with the exception ofspecial classes of ore cars, have not less than a 30 foot overall wheelbase (i. e. measured from outside axle to outside axle), it follows(assuming 5 feet 6 inches between axle centers for each truck) that ascale having a weigh rail 21 (Figure 4a) 24 feet 6 inches in lengthwould enable multiple draft gravity weighing of substantially allconventional freight cars exclusive of ore cars with the use of only onetrip mechanism 28 located at the leaving end of the weigh rail, becausewith this length of rail not more than one car truck could be on therail at any one time and maximum time would be afforded for the scale tobecome stabilized aft er the truck was on the scale, thereby enablingthe cars to be moved over the scale at the greatest possible speed,consistent with the response of the weighing mechanism to loads imposedon the scale.

In gravity weighing, it is customary to provide spur tracks so thatlocomotives and other heavy rolling stock need not pass over the scale,so by providing a scale having a weigh rail not more than approximately24 feet 6 inches in length, not more than one truck 0f substantially anyconventional freight car, exclusive of ore cars, can be on the scale atany one time, and the scale may have a correspondingly lower capacitythan scales heretofore used for this purpose. In other words, the totalcapacity would not have to be more than 60 tons, which means that for atwo-section scale each section would not have to have a capacity of morethan tons. Present scales used for gravity weighing may be required tocarry total loads up to twice these amounts and must be madecorrespondingly larger to carry these loads.

Although it is desirable to have the weigh rail for gravity weighing aslong as possible, consistent with the limiting factors mentioned abovein order to enable the speed at which the cars are moved over the scaleto be as great as possible, certain advantages are gained by having aweigh rail the length of which is on the order of 18 feet 6 inches. Witha weigh rail of this length and scale capacity suitable for the purpose,the scale may be used for either gravity weighing or the weighing ofcars in motion and coupled together. This is illustrated in Figure 4b.The weigh rail is indicated at 29 and has a trip 30 locatedapproximately l2 feet 6 inches from the entering end of the rail andanother trip 3| located adjacent to the leaving end of the rail. Whenthe scale is used for gravity weighing, the trip 3D is renderedinoperative and only the trip 3| is used, the weigh rail being shortenough so that only one truck can be on the weigh rail at one time.

When the scale is used for multiple draft coupled and in motionweighing, the trip 30 is used for weighing the rear truck of each carand amasar the trip.3l for recording the Weight` of the front truck ofeach ca-r. Assuming, for example, that the rear truck ofJ car 32j is onthe scale with the cars moving in the direction indicated by the arrow,when this truck reaches the trip 3D,

the weight of this truck will be recorded. For the rear truck to moveoff ofthe scale, it must move the six additional feet from ther trip` 3Dto the leaving end'ofthe weigh rail, plus 5 feet 6 inches for the rearWheel of that truck to get off of the rail, or a total of 11 feet 6inches. While this is taking place, the front truck of carY 33 has movedupon the weigh rail and the front wheel of that truck` has moved 11feet6 inches onto the weigh rail. There are still '7v feet for the fronttruck of car 33 to travelbefore it reaches the trip 3l and this is thesamedistance thatthe rear truck of car 32 had to travel after beingcompletely'on the weigh rail before reachingv the trip 30. Hence, inboth cases', '7` feet of car travel is provided for enabling the scaleto stabilize.

Locomotiva socle:

Locomotive wheel load scales, now used comprise a series of weigh railsseparated by dead rails for obtaining the static weights for each of thewheel supports for the locomotive. The scales are tremendously expensiveandcumbersome and the scales must be designed for the particular type oflocomotive tQ be weighed; A scale of this typeis diagrammatcally. shownin Figure 5, and for a more complete description of conventionallocomotivel wheel load scales,y see Railway Engineering andl MaintenanceCyclopedia, 1942 Edition, published by Simmons- Boardman PublishingCompany, D. 714.

since the principal purpose of V weighing the locomotive is to obtainthev distribution of, the load on the driver wheels rather than thetjotal weight of the locomotive, it ispossiblewith my invention toobtain this information, aswell asthe total weight of the locomotive, bythe use of scale mechanism of far simpler construction than has hithertobeen used.. For examplainstead of" using the multiple scale arrangement`shown inFi'gure 5, it is possible with my, inventionv to employ a weighrail 34' ofv not more than4 approximately 5 feet in length, but inthiscase theweigh rails on opposite rails of thev track are preferably,f

though not necessarily, connected to separate scale mechanisms andrecorders. a trip 35 at the leaving end of each weigh rail, each driverwheel as it passes over the scale will actuate the recorder of itsrespective scale mechanism and recordthe weight imposed'onthe4 scale bythat wheel. The information furnishedv by the record tape thenenablescorrectionstobe made in the distribution-of* the load.

The dynamic weighingofI locomotives;y first in one direction and'then4inthe other, gives additional information, particularlyvconcerning theshifting of load dueto-play of-"parts- Theoretically, the weighrail foralocomotive of this type need-be nomore4 than the length necessary tosupport asingle driver wheel, pos- By providing sibly two orthreeinches, but; since time isrequired for scale stabilization, a length'`ofssubstantially no more thanv 5l feet"A is desirable`Y becausesubstantially al1 conventional freightllocomotives haver a4 spacing of.a` leastz feet? between driver axles.

Modficationof emistingfscales In Figures 8-13 inclusive-isA shown aconventional four-section, three-span',V @afoot scale y which has beenmodified to incorporate the teachings of this invention. The-parts ofthe original scale which are not used as a part of they modified scaleare shownV in dotted lines, while those retained are shown in fulllines.

In this case the scale is one used for weighing carsV while in motionand coupled together and comprisesfour sections 40, 4I, 42 and 43mounted in a scale pit 44 and having a weigh bridge with three spans,one indicated at 45 between the sections 40 and 4I, another indicated at46 between the sections 4I and 42, and the third indicated at 41 betweenthe sections 42 and 43; The weigh rail originally extended from 48 to 49and the load was transferred from the weigh rail through the three spans4of the weigh bridge'to the various levers and connections constitutingthe scale mechanism. These levers and connections included a pair ofmain levers 50 Iand 5| at each section (see Figure 13)', end extensionlevers 52 and 53- and middle extension leversl 54 and 55, which,together take the load from the main levers and transmit it to the scalebeam through a transverse extension lever 51, beam rod 58, shelfl lever59 and scale beam connecting rod 60. Scale mechanism of this type iswell known and further description is believed unnecessary, particularlyin view of the diagrammatic representation of the scale mechanism inFigure 13.

When the entire'40-foot weigh rail was used, the three components 6|, 62and 63 were each supported on their respective spans of the weigh bridgeby rail chairs 64, as shown in the center span section. The dead railtrack 65 which crossed the scale was supported by transverse I beams 66anchored in the side walls of the scale pit with cast iron blocks 61interposed between the I beams and the dead rail for supporting thelatter on the I beams.

In converting the scale to one embodying the teachings ofthis invention,the rail chairs supporting the components 6I and 63 of the weigh railwere removed and these rails are mounted and supported in the samemanner as the dead rail on the transverse I beams 66. Blocks 68 and 69are placed under the end extension levers so that the middle extensionlevers 54 and 55 receive thelirentire loading from the center span orweigh rai A deck 10 is customarily provided over the scalepitand issupportedby the'deadlrail I beams 66. For rigidity the two parallelsides of the weigh bridge are connected together by cross members 1| andconnecting braces 95, as shown in Figures 10 andv 16.

The scale pit 44 has a neck or side extension 12 which receives thepower end of the transverse extension lever 51, as shown in Figures 11and 12. The scale beam 13 of the scale is suitably mounted above theneck 12 and the power end 14 of the scale beam is connected by a rod 15to automatic weight-indicating and'recording ap paratus, designated 16which includes a spring counterpoise, not shownand a dashpot 11, such,for example, as the totalizing apparatus shown in Page Patent No.2,406,897. Weight-indicating and recording mechanism of this type iswell known and is characterized bythe fact that when the trip associatedwith the weigh rail is actuated, the weight indicated byv the scale isautomatically printed upon a tape or cardv to make a suitable record ofthe weights being determined; The following UnitedStates Letters Patentillustrate weight-indicating and recording mechanism of this type,including trips for operating the mechanism:

Amet 380,672 Apr. 10, 1888 Amet 392,531 Nov. 6, 1888 Amet 413,880 Oct.26, 1889 Goetz 651,845 June 19, 190D Goetz '778,359 Dec. 27, 1904 Goetz946,600 Jan. 18, 1910 New scale construction The enormous saving in costof scale construction using my invention can be shown by referring toFigures 15 and 16 which illustrate how a short track scale may be builtwith simplified construction and relatively low capacity sections.

In this case the scale pit 18 is correspondingly smaller, and, assuminga weigh rail 19 of say 12 feet 6 inches or thereabouts, the sectionalcapacity of each of the two sections 80 and 8| need not exceed 60 tonsand yet permit all classes of rolling stock, including locomotives, topass over the weigh rail without overloading the scale. The ends of theapproach track 82 are supported by transverse I beams 83 anchored in thesides of the pit. The transverse I beams 84 which extend across the pitbetween the rail chairs 85 are used merely to support the deck 86, and,as compared with the transverse I beams ordinarily used for supporting adead rail, are much lighter in section.

Since each of the sections 89 and 8| need have a sectional capacity ofonly 60 tons, their components may be correspondingly lighter, and theend extension levers 8l and 88 which transmit the load from the mainlevers 89 an-d 90 of the sections 80 and 8| to the transverse extensionlever 9| are likewise of lighter construction. Reduction of the pitsize, elimination of middle extension levers, the main levers associatedtherewith, and two spans of the weigh bridge make for a great savings ininitial cost of construction. The elimination of the dead rail and itssupport, switches, etc, provide added savings in cost, to say nothing ofthe operational savings resulting from being able to run a locomotiveover the scale without dea/d rail switching.

Any kind of suitable trip mechanism, such as indicated at 92, may beused adjacent the leaving end of the weigh rail 19 and its actuation ofthe weightrecording apparatus is clearly disclosed in the prior artpatents, hereinbefore referred to.

Totalizer It is contemplated that the automatic weight.

indicating and recording mechanism may include means for recording notonly the individual Weights of the car trucks passing over the scale butalso automatically add and record the combined Weights of the two trucksconstituting,

each car. This may be done by the use of any suitable known totalizingdevice.

Alternately operable dual trip mechanism In the patents heretoforereferred to for their 12 mer |0| which records on tape |02 the scalemarking on that portion of the scale wheel It?. opposite the hammer l0The pawl and ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet wheel |94 having eightratchet teeth |05 on its periphery. The wheel is driven by dual pawlmechanisms, one of which is actuated by the pivoted trip 25 and theother by the pivoted trip 26. The pawl mechanism operated by the trip 26drives the ratchet wheel in a counterclockwise direction and comprisesan arm 65 having a pivoted pawl |01 yieldingly held in engagement withthe ratchet wheel |011 by a spring |08, but limited in its movement bythc spring |98 by a pin 99 so that the end of' the pawl normally justclears the low part of the ratchet wheel while still engaging the teeth05. The arm I is connected to the trip 20 by any suitable means, such asa link |09.

The pawl mechanism operated by the trip 25 drives the ratchet wheel inthe same direction and likewise comprises an arm Ht carrying a pivotedpawl held in engagement with the ratchet wheel by a spring |I2 butlimited in its movement by the spring I2 by a pin l i3 so that the endof the pawl normally just clears the low part of the ratchet wheel whilestill engaging the teeth |05. The arm ||0 is connected to the trip 25 bya link or other connection I4.

The ratchet wheel |04 is xedly mounted on a shaft ||5 and both aremovable axially of the shaft by a suitable bifurcated shifting lever,generally indicated i i6, between two positions, one of which is shownin Figure 18 in full lines, and the other in dotted lines, as shown atIl?, During the movement, the pawl-carrying arms |05 and ||0 remainstationary. In the retracted or full line position, pins |22 and |23projecting laterally from the face of the ratchet wheel opposite thesixth and eighth teeth are adapted to strike the arm |20 of a 'bellcrank lever i2| to drive the hammer |0| i'nto printing engagement withthe dial wheel |03. It has been determined that when dual trip mechanismis to be used in the manner shown in Figure 2 for Weighing cars coupledtogether and in motion, the weight on the scale should be automaticallyrecorded for every sixth and eighth actuation of either of the two trips25 and 26; and, since the trips 25 and 26 are each operable to rotatethe ratchet wheel one notch when actuated, the pins |22 and |23 willeffect the automatic recording of the weight on the scale at the propertime.

Using the same scale for gravity weighing of uncoupled cars, it isdesirable to use only the trip 26 located at the leaving end of the railand this is readily accomplished by shifting the lever ||6 to move theratchet mechanism to its dotted line In this position the pawl is out ofengagement with the ratchet wheel and pins I 8 and ||9 which are locatedopposite the second and fourth teeth, respectively, of the ratchet wheelare brought into position where they too will actuate the printing arm|20. In this way the mechanism has been converted to a two-cyclesingle-trip device from a dual trip mechanism operating on every sixthand eighth actuation of either trip.

The pin ||3 holds the pawl I in a sufficiently retracted position sothat on operating the lever |6 to move the ratchet mechanism to its fullline position shown in Figure 18, the pawl HI will clear the low portionof the wheel and fall into proper engagement.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in enligne Figure' 19. the duntrip mechanism is electrically operatedl and comprises pawl and ratchetmechanism, generally designated |24, controlled by the trip-26 and pawland ratchet mechanism |25 controlled by the trip 25. Each pawl andratchet mechanism comprises a ratchet wheel |26 having four teeth on itsperiphery, as indicated at |21. and the ratchet wheels are rotated in acounterclockwise direction by an arm |28 carryinga pivoted pawl |29constantly urgedinto engagement with the ratchet wheel by a spring |30.The arm is normally held in the position shown in Figure 19 by a spring|3| and rotation of the ratchet wheel is eiected by a solenoid |32associated with each trip mechanism, which in turn is connected by ajointed arm |33 to: the driving arm |28 of the pawl and ratchetmechanism.

The pawl and ratchet |2'4 has a laterally eX- tending pin |34 which isi280 degrees outof phase with a similar pin |35 on the pawl and ratchet|25. A pair of switches |35 and |31 are oppositely disposed about theshaft |38 whichrotatably supports the ratchet wheel of the mechanism |24and a single switch |39 is associated with the pawl and ratchetmechanism in the same position as the switch. |31. The switch arms ofthese switches are adapted to .be engaged by the pins |341. and andclosed temporarily while the pin travels past the arm.

A solenoid-operated` platen hammer mounted above the scale wheel |4I:which carries suitably inked scale indicia on its periphery, so thatwhen the solenoid 42 is energized', the hammer |40 is pressed againstthe wheel and a record of the scale indicia opposite the platen hammer|40 is recorded on the moving record tape |143. The platen hammer 4|) isnormally held in raised position by a springV |44.

The solenoids |32 which operate the pawl and ratchet mechanisms. are inparallel circuits and either may be energized whenever the tripmechanism associated therewith. closes the contactsassociated with theparticular trip. rlhe contacts for the trip 26 are indicated at |45 andthose for the trip 25 are indicated at |46. The switches |36, |31 and|39 are connected on one side to a lead |41 and on the other side areconnected through the solenoid |42 to the other side of the line throughconductor |48.

'I'he single-pole double-throw switch |49v connects one side ot the linealternatively to switch |36 or switch |39 for a purpose now to bedescribed.

When the track Scale is being used for weighing cars coupled togetherand in motion, thel switch arrn ldy of the switch |49 isrmoved tofaposition where it makes contact with lead 5| thereby energizing switch|39 and rendering switch |36 inoperative. This means that on everyfourth actuation of the trip 26, the pin |34 will operate the switch|3'l thereby energizing the solenoid; and likewise on every fourthactuation of the trip 25, the pin |35 will actuate the switch |39 andenergize the solenoid |42 to record the weight then on the scale. Sincethe pins |34 and |35 are 180 degrees out of phase, the pawl and ratchetmechanism |24, if set properly, will actuate the weight recorderwhenever the iront wheel 'of the rear truck of a car strikes the trip25, and, similarly, the pawl and ratchet mechanism |25 will operate theweight recorder whenever the front wheel of the front truck of a carstrikes the trip 26.

When the scale mechanism is being used for gravity weighing of uncoupledcars, it is desirable to have only the trip 26 operate the Weightrecorder and this should be done for each second actuation by a carwheel. This is accomplished in the present embodiment or the inventionby throwing the switch |49 to cause the switch arm |55- to be in contactwith the lead |52., thereby energizing the switch |35I and deenergizingthe switch |39. The pawl and ratchet mechanism then becomes a two-cyclecounter and the desired result isA effected.

De finitions Throughout the specication and claims it should beunderstood that the expression Conventional Freight Car refers tocommonly used freight cars. of the two-truck., fourwheels-pertruck typeused in the .United Statesl as shown in Car Builders Cyclopedia, 1943Edition, publishedv by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Company, andsimilarly the expression Conventional Freight. Locomotive. refers tocommonly used freight. and switching locomotives used in the UnitedStateslas shown in Locomotive Cyclopedia, 1944 Edition, published bySimmons-Boardman Publishing Company.

It should' also bev understood that the terms trip and' trip rnecrianismshould be given a broad interpretation to include known equivalents oimechanical trip devices, such,v for example, as inductive,photoelectric,l and other position-responsive devices.

I claim:

1. A track scale for weighing freight cars of varying length andcapacity while in motion. and while coupled together, said scalecomprising a weigh rail, weight recording mechanism for indicating theweight on the weigh rail at given times, Said weigh rail being ofalength less than the distance between the front wheel axes of front andrrear trucks of the shortest car being weighed but sufficiently longerthan a car truck wheel base to permit the truck to be scale borne vasuicient length of time to secure accurate 'weight, and means includinga trip mechanism responsive to the position of a car with respect lengthof theV weigh rail is more than substantially 5 feetA 6 inches and lessythan substantially 15C feet;

4. A scale according to claim l in which the length of the weigh rail ismore than substantially 5 feet 6 inches and less than substantially 15feet, with the trip mechanism responsive to the leading wheel of thetruck on the scale reaching a point substantially 12 feet 6 inches fromthe entering end of the rail.

5. A track scale for weighing locomotives in motion, said scaleincluding a weigh rail, the length of which is not substantially morethan 5 feet, whereby not more than one driver wheel of a conventionalfreight locomotive can .be on the weigh rail at any given time, a weightrecording mechanism associated with said weigh rail, and means includinga trip mechanism responsive to the position of a locomotive with respectto the weigh rail, and operatively contime that a locomotive wheel isalone on said Weigh rail.

6. A track scale for weighing freight cars of varying length andcapacity while in motion and while coupled together in a train, saidscale comprising .a weigh rail, weight recording mechanism forindicating the weight on the weigh rail at given times, and a tripassociated with the weigh rail and responsive to the position of the carpassing over the weigh rail, said trip being 'operatively connected tothe weight recording mechanism and controlling operation thereof forrecording said weight when actuated by a car passing over the weighrail, said weigh rail having a length small enough so that not more thanthree driver wheels of a conventional freight locomotive can be on therail at any one time nor more than one truck of any conventional freightcar exclusive of ore cars whereby the scale may be constructed with amaximum capacity based upon one-half of the maximum weight of any carbeing weighed, and the load imposed by said three driver wheels.

7. A track scale in accordance with claim 6 in which the weigh rail isless than substantially 15 feet in length and in which the trip islocated adjacent to the leaving end of the weigh rail.

8. A track scale for weighing freight cars of varying length andcapacity while in motion and while coupled together, said scalecomprising a weigh rail, weight recording mechanism for indicating theWeight on the weigh rail at given times, said weigh rail being of alength less than the distance between the front wheel axes of front andrear trucks of the shortest car being weighed but suiciently longer thana car truck wheel base to permit the truck to be scale borne asuflicient length of time to secure accurate weight, and means includingalternately effective trips spaced longitudinally of the weigh rail, andoperatively connected to said weight recording mechanism, for actuatingsaid weight recording mechanism each time that a single car truck isscale borne, one of said trips being actuated to effect recording of thefront truck of each car and the other trip being actuated to effectrecording of the rear truck of each car.

9. A track scale in accordance with claim 8 in which the length of theweigh rail is more than substantially feet 6 inches and less thansubstantially 3l feet 6 inches, and in which said rst mentioned trip islocated adjacent to the leaving end of the weigh rail and the secondmentioned trip is located not more than feet from the entering end ofthe weigh rail.

10. A track scale for weighing freight cars of varying length andcapacity while in motion and while coupled together, said scalecomprising a weigh rail, weight recording mechanism for indicating theweight on the weigh rail at given times, said weigh rail being of alength such that each wheeled component of each car being weighed willat some time be alone on the weigh rail, and means including a tripmechanism responsive to the position of a car with respect to the weighrail and operatively connected to the weight recording mechanism foractuating said weight recording mechanism each time that one of saidwheeled components is alone on the weigh rail, said weigh rail beingless than 15 feet in length.

11. A track scale for weighing freight cars of varying length andcapacity while in motion, said scale comprising a weigh rail, weightrecording mechanism for indicating the weight on the weigh rail at giventimes, said weigh rail being of a length less than the distance betweenthe front wheel axes of front and rear trucks of the shortest car beingweighed so that the capacity of the scale may be limited to less thanthe gross weight of any car being weighed, and means including a tripmechanism responsive to the position of a car with respect to the weighrail and operatively connected to the weight recording mechanism foractuating said weight recording mechanism each time that a single cartruck is scale borne.

12. A track scale for weighing freight cars of varying length andcapacity while in motion, said scale comprising a weigh rail, weightrecording mechanism for indicating the weight on the weigh rail at giventimes, and means including alternately effective trips spacedlongitudinally of the Weigh rail and operatively connected to saidweight recording mechanism for actuating said weight recording mechanismeach time that a single car truck is scale borne, one of said tripsbeing actuated to effect recording of the front truck of each car andthe other trip being actuated to effect recording of the rear truck ofeach car.

HARRY MAYER.

REFERENCES CITED rThe following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date '778,359 Goetz Dec. 27, 19041,494,164 Goldbeck May 13, 1924 2,339,152 Connelly et al Jan. 11, 1944

